Explicit Nation-Wide Habitat Models for Common Italian Piciformes

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Explicit Nation-Wide Habitat Models for Common Italian Piciformes Avocetta 33: 115-122 (2009) Explicit nation-wide habitat models for common Italian Piciformes Tommaso Campedelli2, GuGlielmo londi2, lorenzo mini2, Guido Tellini Florenzano1,2 1 MITO2000, National Committee 2 DREAM Italia - Via Garibaldi 3, I-52015 Pratovecchio (AR), Italy ([email protected]) Abstract – The aim of this paper is to assess the effect of broad scale environmental and geographical variables on the presence of Italian commonest breeding Piciformes (Wryneck, Green, Black, and Great Spotted Woodpeckers). Using the data of MITO2000 (2000-2003), logistic regression models were built, relating their presence with area occupied by Corine land-use categories, habitat diversity, morpho- logical and elevation-range, latitude and longitude. Our analyses seem to give some basic information about large scale ecology of the species, allowing to indicate different habitat types (heterogeneus habitat for Wryneck, broadleaved woods for Green Woodpecker, woods for Great Spotted Woodpecker). Our models clearly show the importance of geographical variables to infer how species ecology chang- es at different latitudes: Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker for example, become commoner, and less linked to woods, northwards. INTRODUCTION 2003, Brotons et al. 2004a, Rushton et al. 2004). Although some doubts on their effectiveness still remain (Gutzwiller Woodpeckers are typically considered forest species and and Barrow 2003, Chamberlain et al. 2004), these tech- efficient woodland biodiversity indicators, from local niques, if correctly applied, have proved to be valuable (Mikusinski et al. 2001) to continental scale (Mikusinski tools for the knowledge of the actual distribution of spe- and Angelstam 1998). Moreover, the ecology of wood- cies and to obtain objective information on the main eco- peckers is complex: they show a different degree of spe- logical factors affecting their presence (Guisan and Zim- cialization (Angelstam and Mikusinski 1994) and, even merman 2000, Scott et al. 2002, Bustamante and Seoane if they need tree-presence anyway, some species have 2004). Ecological models built at regional scale have re- evolved to live in non forested habitats (Gorman 2004). sulted able to stress some features about woodpecker ecol- In Italy nine woodpecker species are regularly present: ogy, particularly to what concern habitat preferences (To- Picus canus and Picoides tridactylus have a distribution balske and Tobalske 1999). limited to the north-east part of Italy; Dendrocopos me- The availability of ornithological data originating from dius and Dendrocopos leucotos are concentrated in small national monitoring schemes, that may be related to broad areas in the central and southern Apennines only; Dendro- scale variables, enables to build habitat suitability models copos minor, even though it is widespread along continen- with great geographical value by means of GIS applica- tal and peninsular regions, results scarcely detected due tion (Scott et al. 2002, Brotons et al. 2004a, Suarez-Seoane to its low detectability (Meschini and Frugis 1993). The et al. 2004). Due to their objectivity, these models can be most widespread species are Jynx torquilla, Picus viridis, used as reliable tools supporting the decisions for biodiver- Dryocopus martius and Dendrocopos major, these species sity conservation, allowing planners to know more on the are less demanding in terms of habitat requirements, be- factors affecting species distributions and projecting those ing, for example, less linked with the presence of mature beyond sampled areas (Naesset 1997, Woodhouse et al. stands and dead wood (Mikusinski and Angelstam 1998, 2000, Osborne 2005). Gorman 2004). Apart from information describing their habitat (e.g. Mathematical models are useful tools to describe spe- Pedrini et al. 2005), the ecological requirements of Ital- cies ecology and they are widely used in ornithology (Os- ian woodpeckers are reported only for few species at lo- borne et al. 2001, Ambrosini et al. 2002, Seoane et al. cal scale (e.g. Tellini Florenzano 1996, Bettiol et al. 2000, © 2009 CISO - Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici 115 Campedelli et al. Rassati et al. 2001, Ceruti et al. 2003, Guerrieri and Cast- sidering the characteristics of our sampling design, in or- aldi 2003, Pirovano et al. 2003). The only attempt of eco- der to limit this problem we have excluded all grid cells logical analysis at national scale concerns the definition of with only one point count, considering each species absent deterministic models for Italian vertebrates (Boitani et al. in every grid cell in which at least two point counts were 2002), based on subjective evaluation by specialists. carried out without finding it. Models have been built us- Since a national synthesis based on field observa- ing logistic regression (software Statistica 7.0) because, at tion data is missing and due to the availability of large the time when the analyses were processed (autumn 2006), amount of information on breeding woodpecker localiza- presence-only methods were not yet available. tions in Italian territory that comes from the database of The environmental and geographical variables used to MITO2000 project (Fornasari et al. 2004), we have calcu- build the models are reported in Tab. 1. Besides the clas- lated stochastic models at the national scale for the occur- sic geographical variables (e.g., longitude), we individuat- rence of the four Italian commonest Piciformes (J. torquil- ed some areas characterised by biogeographical specificity la, P. viridis, D. martius and D. maior) assessing the effect (i.e., river Po flood plain, Sicily, Sardinia, see Minelli et of environmental (land use, but also ground morphology) al. 2002) that were analysed as “dummy” variables (Waite and geographical (e.g. latitude) variables. In particular, we 2000). In each 2.5 x 2.5 km mesh, we calculated the me- aimed to assess the effect of large scale environmental var- dian altitude using the data obtained from a DTM (Digital iables (land use and topography) and geographical ones, Terrain Model; cell size 300 m2). Standard deviation of al- whose effects can be likely ascribed to changes in climatic titude was used to describe the topography (as altitude is conditions and seem to play a decisive role in explaining more variable as the morphology is more uneven). For the the distribution of the investigated species, greatly improv- environmental variables we used the Corine Land Cover ing the validity of the models (Hawkins and Diniz-Filho map (third level; Büttner et al. 1998) retrieving the surface 2004). These variables, largely used in the past to describe of different land use in each 2.5 x 2.5 km mesh. As a meas- the ecogeography of birds (e.g. Voous 1960), were subse- ure of environmental diversity, we calculated the Shannon quently scarcely taken into account since their effect was index on land-use Corine categories. considered difficult to prove (see Fasola 1985). In recent Interpolating point-abundance data (IDW method; see years, due to the aid of more reliable and robust statistical Fortin and Dale 2005), we defined the range of each spe- techniques, variables such as latitude are newly considered cies assuming as its boundaries the isoline that excludes of capital importance to define the ecology of bird species, less than 1% of species presence. Subsequent analyses at least at large scale (e.g. Forsman and Mönkkönen 2003). were conducted only on the meshes included in this range. The IDW method (Inverse Distance Weighting) calculates a value for each grid cell from data points within a speci- STUDY AREA AND METHODS fied search radius, weighting closer point more than those farther away. We analysed the presence/absence data look- We overlapped a 2.5 x 2.5 km grid on the whole Italian ing for the effects of first and second polynomial order for territory excluding small islands. The grid mesh was em- every variable and their possible interactions (Draper and pirically selected considering the structure of the available Smith, 1998). To obtain the most informative models of database and the ecology of the investigated species. For descriptive nature (McNally 2000), they were built select- each grid mesh, we defined the presence or absence of each ing the best combination of variables according to the AIC investigated species and we calculated the values of sev- (Akaike Information Criterion, McQuarrie and Tsai 1998) eral environmental and geographical variables. value. Models with lower AIC indicate a greater degree The data on bird occurrence were obtained from MI- of parsimony (greater variance explained per parameter). TO2000 database, the Italian Bird Monitoring Scheme, Then we measured the efficiency of the obtained models that consists of randomly selected 10-min point counts selecting, for each species, the most informative one based (Fornasari et al. 2002). We took into account data collect- on the AUC value (Area Under the ROC Curve, Hosmer ed in 2000-2003 years for the four Italian commonest Pici- and Lemeshow 2000). In all cases, we included in the mod- formes species, i.e. J. torquilla, P. viridis, D. martius, D. els only the variables, or their interactions, whose marginal major. contribution was significant (p<0.05). Each species was considered present in every grid cell Only for J. torquilla, P. viridis and D. major, due to in which it was recorded at least one time; to what con- the big amount of available data, we firstly built the mod- cern the absence, due to the well known problems in cop- el with a data subset, randomly chosen and corresponding ing with false-absence cases (Kerr et al. 2000), and con- to the 80% of the available ones, and then we validated it 116 Explicit nation-wide habitat models for common Italian Piciformes (checking for their statistical significance, P<0.05) using parameter, either used alone or considering the cumulative the remaining 20% (Massolo and Meriggi 1995); the defin- effect produced by the interaction with other variables. In itive model was built using all available data.
Recommended publications
  • A Eurasian Wryneck Speciment from Southern Indian
    A EurasianWryneck specimen from southern Indiana JohnB. Dunning,Jr. Amanda Beheler head of the natural resources division at Crane. Andrews also did not rec- Michael Crowder ognizethe bird, and neither he norMr. Crowdercould find a goodmatch Departmentof Forestryand Natural Resources in the North Americanfield guides present at the naturalresource office PurdueUniversity Knowingthat wildlife faculty and students from Purdue University would WestLafayette, Indiana 47907-1159 be workingat Cranein the spring,Andrews placed the specimenin h•s office freezer. Several months later Beheler,then a Ph.D. candidate in the Steve Andrews Departmentof Forestryand Natural Resourcesat Purdue,arrived at NaturalResources Building NSWC Crane to begin her annualfield researchon EasternPhoebes Code 09228 (Sayornisphoebe).Andrews showed her the specimen, but shealso did not Naval Surface Warfare Center recognizeit. The detailsof itsdiscovery were vague, because the nameand Crane,Indiana 47522 contactinformation of thefinder had disappeared during the intervemng months.Beheler transported the bird to Purdue,while Andrews tried to Ron Weiss relocate the individual who found the bird. Ch•pperWoods Bird Observatory Bythe time Behder arrived home, she had checked a numberof North 10329North New Jersey Street andCentral American field guides to no avail..Shecalled Dunning, a fac- Indianapolis,Indiana 46280 tfitymember in her departmentat Purdue,and told him aboutthe find WhenDunning arrived at the Behelerhouse 30 minuteslater to seethe ABSTRACT specimen,Amanda and her husbandBrian had identifiedthe bird as a In February2000, a deadbird found by a workerat theCrane Naval Surface EurasianWryneck (Jynx torquilla) using a Europeanfield guide. Dunning WarfareCenter in southernIndiana proved to be a EurasianWryneck concurredwith theidentification, although neither he norBeheler had any (Jynxtorquilla), a species recorded only once before in NorthAmerica.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ecological Determinants of Wryneck Occurrence
    Food or nesting place? Identifying factors limiting wryneck populations Master thesis der Philosophisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Bern submitted by Valérie Coudrain 2009 Supervision Prof. Raphaël Arlettaz PD Michael Schaub Institute of Ecology and Evolution Division of Conservation Biology Table of contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. 3 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4 2. MATERIAL AND METHODS..................................................................................... 6 2.1 HABITAT REQUIREMENTS OF WRYNECKS ..................................................... 7 2.1.1 Sampling design ............................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Habitat mapping ............................................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Food resources .................................................................................................. 9 2.1.4 Statistical analyses .......................................................................................... 9 2.2 ANT ABUNDANCE MODELLING ......................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Sampling design ............................................................................................. 10 2.2.2 Ant nest detection probability ..................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Ringing Results in Hrvatsko Zagorje Region (North-Western Croatia): Ringing Recoveries in Other Countries
    NAT. CROAT. VOL. 17 No 4 325¿333 ZAGREB December 31, 2008 original scientific paper / izvorni znanstveni rad BIRD RINGING RESULTS IN HRVATSKO ZAGORJE REGION (NORTH-WESTERN CROATIA): RINGING RECOVERIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES ZDRAVKO DOLENEC Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia (e-mail: [email protected]) Dolenec, Z.: Bird ringing results in Hrvatsko zagorje region (north-western Croatia): ringing recoveries in other countries. Nat. Croat., Vol. 17, No. 4, 325–333, 2008, Zagreb. This paper is based on the recoveries of birds ringed in the territory of Hrvatsko zagorje region (north-western Croatia). In the period from 1972 to 2007 I ringed 16400 birds (70 species), 31 of which were recorded outside the territory of Croatia (5 species: starling Sturnus vulgaris – 26, woodpigeon Columba palumbus – 1, blackbird Turdus merula – 2, song thrush Turdus philomelos – 1 and blue tit Parus caeruleus – 1). Twenty-two birds were recovered in Europe (8 in Italy and 1 in Spain, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic) and nine in Africa (5 in Algeria and 4 in Tunisia). Key words: ringed, recoveries, migration of Croatian birds, Hrvatsko zagorje region Dolenec, Z.: Rezultati prstenovanja ptica u Hrvatskom zagorju (sjeverozapadna Hrvatska): nalazi u drugim zemljama. Nat. Croat., Vol. 17, No. 4, 325–333, 2008, Zagreb. U ovome se radu donose rezultati dugogodi{njeg prstenovanja ptica na podru~ju Hrvatskog zagorja, a odnose se na nalaze u drugim zemljama. U razdoblju od 1972. do 2007. godine prsteno- vao sam 16400 ptica (70 vrsta) od koji je izvan granica Hrvatske na|ena 31 ptica (5 vrsta: ~vorak Sturnus vulgaris – 26, golub grivnja{ Columba palumbus – 1, kos Turdus merula – 2, drozd cikelj Turdus philomelos – 1 i plavetna sjenica Parus caeruleus – 1).
    [Show full text]
  • Jynx Torquilla
    Jynx torquilla -- Linnaeus, 1758 ANIMALIA -- CHORDATA -- AVES -- PICIFORMES -- PICIDAE Common names: Eurasian Wryneck; European Wryneck; Torcol; Wryneck European Red List Assessment European Red List Status LC -- Least Concern, (IUCN version 3.1) Assessment Information Year published: 2015 Date assessed: 2015-03-31 Assessor(s): BirdLife International Reviewer(s): Symes, A. Compiler(s): Ashpole, J., Burfield, I., Ieronymidou, C., Pople, R., Wheatley, H. & Wright, L. Assessment Rationale European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC) EU27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC) In Europe this species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over ten years or three generations). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern in Europe. Within the EU27 this species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over ten years or three generations).
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Number 27– October 2014
    P O Box 93, Wakkerstroom 2480 Cell Number 0822556778 E-Mail: [email protected] NEWSLETTER NUMBER 27– OCTOBER 2014 CONTROLLED BURN IN THE WETLAND – John Burchmore On Tuesday 14th October, a controlled burn was successfully carried out near the bridge on the right hand side of the Amersfoort road, next to the poplars. In this specific area there is some Salt Marsh Rush, Juncus kraussii (incema Zulu). The thin strong stem of this reed is one of the favourite weaving materials in KwaZulu–Natal, especially for making the traditional sleeping mats or incansi and is an important source of income for rural people. These mats made from incema stems are of high quality and they last much longer than similar mats made from other sedges. The reeds were dying back due to the increase of moribund material around the rhizomes, possibly because of very few fires in this area of the wetland during the last ten years. Towards the end of summer some of the residents in eSizameleni harvest the reeds, and they requested that the area be burnt to stimulate the growth of the plants. The burn was carried out by the Working on Fire team which is based at BirdLife South Africa Wakkerstroom Centre, after permission had been obtained from the Fire Chief in Volksrust. The Sandy Twomey Memorial Photographic Competition. Sandy Twomey sadly passed away recently. She was so well known and respected for her love of birds and her skill as a photographer that we have instigated what we hope will becomean annual photographic competition in her honour to be called The Sandy Twomey Memorial Photographic Competition.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring the Feeding Activity of Nesting Birds with an Autonomous System
    Monitoring the feeding activity of nesting birds with an autonomous system. Freitag et al. Monitoring the feeding activity of nesting birds with an autonomous system: the case study of the endangered Wryneck Jynx Torquilla ANNE FREITAG *1, ALCHERIO MARTINOLI 2** and JOSEBA URZELAI 2 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 1 Museum of Zoology, PO Box 448, CH-1000 Lausanne 17, Switzerland. 2 Microprocessor and Interface Lab, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, IN-F Ecublens, CH- ** 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Short title: Nest monitoring autonomous system * Correspondence author. ** Alcherio Martinoli is now at the Microsystems Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, U.S.A. 1 Monitoring the feeding activity of nesting birds with an autonomous system. Freitag et al. This paper describes an original autonomous system based on the Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) technology for monitoring the feeding activity of small birds at their nest. It is installed on pre-existing nest boxes which were slightly modified for the monitoring purposes. The system operates autonomously for at least 7 days and recorded data can be collected using a simple pocket calculator or a standard laptop. The monitoring capabilities of the system include the arrival times of each adult, tagged with a PIT attached to one leg, and the regular collecting of microclimatic data. In the present study, the internal and external temperatures of the nest were recorded. The autonomous system was validated during two weeks as part of a more extended study on Wryneck (Jynx torquilla L.) foraging strategies. Its efficacy was confirmed by comparison with conventional photographs of birds at each feeding and climatic station data.
    [Show full text]
  • Food Or Nesting Place? Identifying Factors Limiting Wryneck Populations
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by RERO DOC Digital Library J Ornithol (2010) 151:867–880 DOI 10.1007/s10336-010-0525-9 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Food or nesting place? Identifying factors limiting Wryneck populations Vale´rie Coudrain • Raphae¨l Arlettaz • Michael Schaub Received: 6 July 2009 / Revised: 16 March 2010 / Accepted: 24 March 2010 / Published online: 11 April 2010 Ó Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V. 2010 Abstract In recent decades, farmland bird populations ground and with hollow trees or dedicated nestboxes in the have declined strongly as a consequence of agriculture surroundings, are essential to preserve Wryneck popula- intensification. Birds may have lost breeding sites, food tions. Such a habitat structure could be achieved even in supply or other crucial resources, with the role of multiple intensively farmed habitats, such as in vineyards or fruit factors often remaining unclear. The ant-eating and cavity- tree plantations. breeding Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) may be limited by the availability of cavities, the number of ants or their acces- Keywords Ant nest abundance Á Nest box Á sibility. By comparing occupied and unoccupied breeding Vegetation structure Á Bare ground Á Jynx torquilla territories, we investigated the relative role of these factors in the decline of Wrynecks. We compared the character- istics of known Wryneck breeding territories (availability Introduction of breeding cavities, food abundance and ground vegeta- tion structure) with randomly selected, fictitious territories As a result of the intensification of agriculture, which has (n = 154) in Western Switzerland. We also studied envi- considerably modified the structure of most landscapes, ronmental factors that may affect ant nest density.
    [Show full text]
  • Arboreal Perching Birds
    Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Standards For Arboreal/Perching Bird Sanctuaries Version: December 2019 ©2012 Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries – Standards for Arboreal/Perching Bird Sanctuaries Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 GFAS PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 ANIMALS COVERED BY THESE STANDARDS ................................................................................................. 1 ARBOREAL/PERCHING BIRD STANDARDS .................................................................................................... 3 ARBOREAL/PERCHING BIRD HOUSING ............................................................. 3 H-1. Types of Space and Size .................................................................................................................................................... 3 H-2. Containment ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 H-3. Ground and Plantings ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 H-4. Gates and Doors ......................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Checklists of the World Country Or Region: Malaysia
    Avibase Page 1of 23 Col Location Date Start time Duration Distance Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World 1 Country or region: Malaysia 2 Number of species: 799 3 Number of endemics: 14 4 Number of breeding endemics: 0 5 Number of introduced species: 17 6 Date last reviewed: 2020-03-19 7 8 9 10 Recommended citation: Lepage, D. 2021. Checklist of the birds of Malaysia. Avibase, the world bird database. Retrieved from .https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN&region=my [23/09/2021]. Make your observations count! Submit your data to ebird.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity of Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserves (2011)
    Reserve Biodiversity an assessment of the habitats and species on Scottish Wildlife Trust reserves The Scottish Wildlife Trust, 2011 About the Scottish Wildlife Trust THE SCOTTISH WILDLIFE TRUST, established in 1964, has the charitable purpose to advance the conservation of Scotland’s biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations. With more than 36,000 members, over 120 reserves and a network of volunteers the length and breadth of the country, we are proud to say we are now the largest voluntary body working for all the wildlife of Scotland. This report should be cited as: Dowse G., and Gallagher P. (2011) Reserve Biodiversity: an assessment of the habitats and species on Scottish Wildlife Trust reserves. Scottish Wildlife Trust, Edinburgh. Contents [click title to view section] 1 Executive Summary 4 2 Introduction 6 3 Review of species on Trust reserves 7 4 Species results 10 5 Review of priority habitats on Trust reserves 25 6 Habitat results 27 7 Review of invasive non-natives on Trust reserves 34 8 UK BAP signposting of species to habitats on 43 Trust reserves 9 Species appendices 51 10 Habitat appendices 66 11 Invasive non-native species appendices 68 12 Signposting appendices 74 Please note This report was compiled in November 2008, being published in 2011. In the intervening time, very little will have changed on Trust reserves and so the findings within this report are still valid. Two reserves, Stormont Loch and Doire Donn Scottish Wildlife Trust were disposed of during 2010/11 as the respective landowners did not wish to continue with the Harbourside House management agreements.
    [Show full text]
  • Vertebrata: Aves: Piciformes) and Implications for Creationist Design Arguments P.A
    OPEN ACCESS JCTS Article SERIES B Baraminological Analysis of the Picidae (Vertebrata: Aves: Piciformes) and Implications for Creationist Design Arguments P.A. Garner Biblical Creation Ministries, Soham, Cambs, UK Abstract The Picidae (woodpeckers, wrynecks and piculets) comprise a family within the near passerine order Piciformes. Creationists have often appealed to the unique anatomical and behavioural specializations found in woodpeckers as evidence of divine design. However, until now no baraminological studies of the group have been undertaken. This paper reports a baraminic distance correlation analysis of 50 morphological characters (mostly related to hind limb musculature) and 20 taxa (12 picids and eight outgroup taxa). The results show that the woodpeckers, wrynecks and piculets form a well-defined group united by significant positive correlation and separated from seven of the eight outgroup taxa (barbets, toucans and toucanets) by significant negative correlation. The eighth outgroup taxon, the honeyguide Indicator, was neither positively nor negatively correlated with the other taxa in the dataset. Multidimensional scaling applied to the baraminic distances revealed an orthogonal pattern with ingroup taxa arranged on one axis and outgroup taxa on another, a result that has previously been interpreted as mitigating conclusions of negative discontinuity. However, repeating the analysis without the genus Indicator, which formed one of the axes, did not change the negative correlation between the picids and non-picids, suggesting that the result cannot be dismissed merely as an artefact of the multidimensional scaling pattern. The results suggest that all members of the Picidae constitute a single holobaramin. This conclusion is consistent with hybridization data indicating the monobaraminic status of at least 12 genera in six of the nine tribes within the Picidae.
    [Show full text]
  • Contribution to the Oology of the Eurasian Wryneck Jynx Torquilla
    NAT. CROAT. VOL. 29 No 1 123-128 ZAGREB October 30, 2020 original scientific paper / izvorni znanstveni rad DOI 10.20302/NC.2020.29.11 CONTRIBUTION TO THE OOLOGY OF THE EURASIAN WRYNECK JYNX TORQUILLA Zdravko Dolenec Mokrice 132, HR-49243 Oroslavje, Croatia (e-mail: [email protected]) Dolenec, Z.: Contribution to the oology of the Eurasian wryneck Jynx torquilla. Nat. Croat., Vol. 29, No. 1., 123-128, 2020, Zagreb. In this article I shall present data on the characteristics of the eggs of the Eurasian wryneck, Jynx torquilla, collected in north-western Croatia during the period from 1985 to 2018 using wood nest- boxes. Nestboxes were primarily installed for investigation of Passerine bird species (tits Parus sp., tree sparrow Passer montanus and nuthatch Sitta europaea), but approximately one out of a hundred nest- boxes per year was occupied by the Eurasian wryneck. In this study, 34 clutches in total were sampled during the first nesting in the study period, after all eggs had been laid. In this paper, oological data of the Eurasian wryneck in the south-eastern Europe area are presented for the first time. It is worth not- ing, however, that such data are scarce for the whole of Europe. Average number of eggs per clutch was 8.1 (from 6 to 10). Egg length ranged from 17.7 to 21.9 mm (mean = 20.1 mm), egg breadth from 14.2 to 15.9 mm (mean = 15.1 mm), egg volume from 1856.4 to 2668.9 mm³ (mean = 2347.5 mm³) and elongation index from 1.19 to 1.43 (mean = 1.33).
    [Show full text]